By Parker McKenzie
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced Mary Doyle as the Labor candidate for the upcoming Aston by-election on Saturday 1 April, following the resignation of Alan Tudge from Parliament.
Alongside state and federal Labor members, volunteers and supporters at the Bayswater Bowls Club on Friday 17 February, Mr Albanese said Ms Doyle has what it takes to make history and win a seat from the opposition in a by-election for the first time in 100 years.
“The fact she received a massive swing in the election last May is backed up by the fact she’s been pre-selected unopposed,” he said.
“We don’t know when the by-election will be because Alan Tudge, having announced his resignation from Parliament last Thursday, hasn’t actually got around to resigning.”
Ms Doyle was the Labor candidate for Aston during the 2022 federal election, where she lost to Mr Tudge by a margin of 2.71 per cent, a 7.32 per cent swing towards the Labor Party compared to 2019. She has previously worked as a union organiser and a musician.
Ms Doyle said she has decided to run again because she understands the challenges faced by people in the outer eastern suburbs.
“Back when I was campaigning, I spoke to a lot of different people and some people who voted Liberal all their lives,” she said.
“They told me they’d be voting Labor because they were worried about the cost of living, they cared about improving the situation with aged care and they cared about secure jobs for their kids and grandkids.”
When asked if funding cuts by his government to local infrastructure projects would be an issue at the by-election, Mr Albanese said the performance of Mr Tudge as the member for Aston “says all about how fake the former government was.”
“Alan Tudge committed to spending $50 million to upgrade Napoleon Road but the costing was more than $220 million more than he offered. He committed to the Dorset Road extension, which would have needed more than $120 million than they proposed to spend,” he said.
“The Wellington Road duplication where they offered $110 million would have needed six times more — $640 million — to actually deliver it. so these were just fake promises done in an election. Perhaps Tudge knew he wouldn’t be around to be held to account for this.”
The Aston electorate has been held by the Liberal Party since 1990 and Mr Tudge was the federal representative for the seat from 2010 until he announced his resignation last week.
Mr Albanese said Ms Doyle did an extraordinary job during the last election with a budget from the central campaign that was “not enormous.”
“Imagine how well she’ll go with the sort of support that she will receive but already you see behind us, the best support that Mary can get isn’t dollars, it’s the people that will make a difference in this campaign,” he said.
“Mary will run a very strong campaign, she’s a strong candidate. The odds are very much against her but that hasn’t deterred her from putting herself forward.”
The Liberal Party has yet to announce their candidate, with a pre-selection process set to take place.
Ms Doyle said it is “no secret I’m not a seasoned politician.”
“I’m a suburban mom, I work full time, I have a mortgage on a three-bedroom weatherboard house that needs some repairs,” she said.
“I’m proud to stand here today as the Labor candidate here in Aston and I promise every single day to work so hard to give the people in this area a real choice.”
